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08/14/2024 01:58 PMEAST HAVEN
At its Aug. 7 meeting, the East Haven Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) approved the permissibility of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on the private properties of East Haven residents.
Nearly five months after being released publicly, the regulations now governing ADUs were adopted by the PZC with a few revisions regarding building and occupancy requirements. Section 48.6.1 originally stated that an ADU “shall have a minimum floor area of 500 square feet.” The officially adopted regulations have reduced that minimum to 400 square feet following requests from “many people” that it be lowered, according to Jennifer Coppola, land use attorney.
The maximum floor area remains 800 square feet and shall share no more than 33% of the combined floor area of the principal dwelling to which an ADU is required to be attached.
A major element of the regulations is the non-permissibility of ADUs being used as short-term rental properties, as was the intention of the PZC upon the initial drafting of ADU regulations. This regulation mirrors efforts by the East Haven Town Council to regulate the high turnover rate of occupancy and out-of-town ownership of short-term rentals through a draft ordinance which they are currently in the process of revising.
“Nothing in this regulation shall be interpreted as permitting short-term rentals and vacation stays of any residential dwellings in the Town of East Haven,” Coppola told the PZC.
The entirely of an ADU structure must also “present the character of a single family dwelling unit,” fitting seamlessly with the principal property.
The regulations on occupancy have been expanded. While the requirement that ADU occupants must be related to the primary owner of the property on which the unit sits “by either blood, marriage, or legal adoption,” new policy allows for occupancy to include a “legal guardian of the property owner appointed by the probate court...or a healthcare agent who is responsible for paid care of the property owner or owner, or a minor child or children of the property owner or owners who is or are a mentally or physically impaired person.”
A person legally identified as the healthcare agent of a mentally or physically impaired person within the regulation must be “certified in writing by a physician license in the State of Connecticut with two or more activities of daily living” which need assistance, according to Coppola.
“We want to make sure that people are truly providing care,” so that occupancy is permitted, she added.
No more than two adults and one minor child may reside in an ADU, according to the regulations.
Changes were also made to regulations on parking. Draft regulations state that an ADU shall require at least two parking spaces on its premises. Following concerns on this measure, the newly adopted policy spells out that “all legal occupants of the ADU, [including] their guests shall utilize the existing driveway or garage at the property for the parking of his or her vehicle,” said Coppola.
“No additional driveway shall be created or garage constructed for the purpose of serving the ADU use. The existing driveway and any existing garage must provide sufficient parking for the occupant or occupants of both the principal dwelling and the ADU including, at a minimum, one parking space for the ADU use,” she added.
According to regulations, improvements made to ADU structures will be taxed by the town assessor. Enforcement of all regulations and potential termination of ADU permissibility “would be the typical of enforcement options that we have in enforcing any zoning regulation” said Coppola.